Playing the strong game: Investigating pre-season strength adaptations in elite female rugby league athletes

Maximising strength and power during pre-season is essential for performance success and injury mitigation in rugby league athletes. The typical pre-season strength and power adaptations in elite national level female rugby league athletes are currently unknown. An observational cohort study was used to determine changes in strength, power, and anthropometry across a seven-week pre-season in an elite female rugby league team (n = 28; age: 24.0 ± 4.2 years; height: 168.4 ± 6.3 cm; weight: 78.3 ± 11.8 kg). Testing was completed at the start and end of the 2024 National Rugby League Women's pre-season. A linear mixed model was utilised to compare differences between positions and over time. As a group, fat mass ( b  = 1988.88, p = 0.035) and body fat percentage ( b  = −2.32, p = 0.003) decreased, whilst lean mass and fat-free mass increased between the start and end of pre-season (p ≤ 0.05). Positional differences were observed across all anthropometric measures, relative 3RM bench press ( b  = −0.21, p = 0.005), countermovement jump peak power ( b  = 97.02, p = 0.015), drop jump height ( b  = −7.91, p = 0.012), squat jump peak power ( b  = 106.96, p = 0.012), and hop jump RSI flight contact time ( b  = −0.77, p = 0.021). An interaction effect was observed for 3RM bench pull ( b  = 3.53, p = 0.043) and relative 3RM back squat ( b  = 0.12, p = 0.032), with forwards demonstrating greater strength increases than backs. The lack of change in strength and power metrics indicates the pre-season design may have been insufficient to induce meaningful change in this cohort. Future research should examine other training capacities and larger cross-team cohorts longitudinally, to assist practitioners in development and application of safe and effective training programs.